Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye Rebuilt
by Maximus Wheeljack
Summary: As Optimus Prime and his band of Autobots attempt to save Cybertron from two threats, Megatron, in his passion to claim Cybertron as his own, is relentlessly determined to stop his adversary . New Chapter is up.
1. Chapter 1

**Transformers**

**More Than Meets**

**The Eye:**

**Rebuilt**

**Part I:**

**To Start Anew**

_Iacon_

Preceptor gazed out into the deepest quadrant of space from his observation tower in Iacon and sighed softly to himself. He glanced over to his desk and picked up the data pad on it. He then cross-checked the information that he had calculated cycles ago in order to ensure its accuracy, and without a doubt, it most certainly was. Out of frustration, he threw the data pad on the desk and rubbed his temple, desperately hoping to release some of the pressure that was building in his neural processor since the orn that he had made this discovery.

"It never fails," he said softly to himself. He rubbed the side of his face and then stood up to make his way to the door. He collected his composure before he left the room, and then opened the door that led to the hallway. Out in the corridor , Preceptor saw several other Transformers who were members of the Science Guild that had been frantically working to solve the energon crisis that Cybertron was inevitably headed toward, but he knew now that the energon issue was only a crisis if his race survived to see it come to its disastrous fruition.

"Any luck?" a voice from down the hall called to the Autobot scientist.

Preceptor turned around and saw his fellow coworker and smiled at him. "I highly doubt _luck _has anything to do with it, Astroscope," he said kindly. He held out his arm and shook his friend's hand. He then gazed at his comrade's optics. "A catastrophe of this magnitude would be enough to completely extinguish our species. None of us on Cybertron would be lucky, to say the least."

Astroscope shook his head at Preceptor's reaction. "So there's no mistake in the calculations then?" he asked as if to question Preceptor's skills at the mathematical trajectory.

Preceptor realized that his friend was only trying to comfort him, but he became disappointed at Astrocsope's comment. He then turned around and began walking down the hallway toward the elevator. "There is _no _question," he replied curtly. "The asteroid field will come in contact with Cybertron within the next vorn unless we do something about it."

Both Preceptor and Astroscope reached the elevator. Astroscope pressed the call button and looked at Preceptor who was still contemplating theories on how to avert the situation. "I suppose that you're off to tell Prime," he said.

Preceptor looked up and saw that the elevator reached his floor. He looked over his shoulder and nodded at Astroscope's comment. "Perhaps Optimus Prime can come up with a solution, because, quite frankly, I cannot." Once the elevator locked into the floor, the doors opened. The two Autobots stepped inside of the elevator and waited for the door to close. Preceptor pressed the button that would take them to the ground floor, and then he looked back at Astroscope. "This one is out of my reach, my friend."

Astroscope realized that the hint of desperation in Preceptor's voice was all too real. It also stated to him that his long time friend was at the end of his rope when it came to calculating an answer to the problem, which was uncharacteristic of Preceptor.

Astroscope understood that Preceptor was not a participant when it came to violence against the Decepticons. Preceptor felt that the true way to end this war would not come through the death of war, but rather through the scientific breakthrough that would unite all Transformers, and that was his goal. However, because of his refusal to fight, Preceptor felt that his scientific contributions meant more because many other Autobots were engaged in combat. To Preceptor, if he cold not contribute with his mind, then he felt as if he was not helping the Autobots by any means.

"So where to now, Preceptor?" Astroscope asked with compassion.

Preceptor turned and looked at his friend and smiled at him, realizing that he understood how he was feeling deep within his spark. "Autobot High Command," he said sharply.

_Kaon, Southwestern Quadrant_

_Decepticon Control_

Kup locked the siphoning pipe into place and looked over his shoulder at the two Transformers who were standing behind him. "Tell Brawn that she's locked!" he shouted. "And hurry up, will ya?"

The white and blue Autobot gave Kup the thumbs-up gesture and smiled at his commander. "You got it, boss-bot!" he replied. He then turned around and ran over to the hole in the ground. The Autobot kneeled down and peered into the depths of the hole. "Let her go, B!" he shouted.

Down in the dark tunnel, the small Autobot known as Brawn turned the rust covered wheel and freed the stored energon into the pipe that led to the storage tanker on the surface. There was a screeching of metal on metal as he continued to release the flow of liquid energy out of the vat. He grunted as he opened the valve up all the way.

"Alright Scrags!" Brawn shouted. "Tell Kup that it's workin'! No leaks on this end!" He paused for a moment and looked up at the Autobot who was gazing into the hole with wide optics. "And stop callin' me 'B' for the love of Primus!"

Scrags nodded back at the elder Autobot and stood up. "Sure thing, old timer," he replied with heavy sarcasm. He then walked over to Kup and smiled at him. "Brawn says that we're running free and clear."

Kup smiled and grabbed his laser musket. "Great," he replied. He then started walking to the cockpit of the tanker, and the two Autobots started following him. "Scrags, I want you to contact Jazz back at Iacon. Tell him that we'll be en route shortly!"

Scrags smiled and opened his video communicator imbedded within his left forearm. "Anything else?" he asked as he began logging onto the Autobot security network.

"Yeah," Kup started. "I want some protection once we leave Kaon. Hauling this much energon ain't going to be easy, especially once Ratbat discovers that it came from here!"

Scrags nodded at Kup and completed the encryption process for him to start the communication with Autobot Command in Iacon. "Well do, Kup!"

Kup looked over at the other Autobot who was standing next to Scrags. "Nightbeat, I want you to get the scanner running; I don't want to have any Decepti-goons sneaking up on us!"

Nightbeat nodded at Kup and started walking to the opposite end of the cockpit. "That wouldn't be pleasant," he replied as he climbed into the cockpit. He switched the equipment on and started scanning for Decepticon energy signatures. He then turned to Kup and looked at him inquisitively. "Just what the slag do we need with all of this energon anyway?" he asked.

Kup shook his head and stepped out of the cockpit. "Magnus says that it's for something urgent," he replied. He turned around and saw Brawn making his way over toward the tanker. Kup could tell that Brawn was mumbling to himself in annoyance as he was wiping off black lubricant from his shoulders. "The High Command is keeping things tight on this one, kid." He then looked back at Nightbeat who was still actively scanning the vicinity for Decepticons. "But something tells me that pulling slag like this on the fly means that things are not looking so polished for us right now."

_Northern Pole_

_Neutral Territory_

The explosion rocked the ground around the small group of Autobots as they continued to hold their position. Debris rained down on the huddled Transformers as they covered themselves with their arms to protect them frrm it. Each of them ducked down further to avoid the continuous laser fire from the Decepticon warriors who sought their own coverage off in the distance.

When the last of the metal debris hit the ground, a red Autobot turned to look at his commander. "Bang-Zow Grimlock!" he stated with enthusiasm. "These Decepticons are holed up better than a rust-mite on Sludge!"

The massive Autobot reached for another energon power cell and slapped it into his rifle. He then gazed over at the Autobot with a stern look in his red optics. "Me think you right, Warpath!" he said in his deep voice. Some of the gathered Transformers were not sure if it was his voice or the shells slamming into the surface that shook the ground. He then looked over at a green and orange Autobot who was loading more ammunition into his own set of weapons. "Roadblock!" Grimlock shouted.

The Autobot known as Roadblock quickly turned his head and looked at Grimlock with heavy concern. "Yes boss," he replied promptly.

Grimlock placed his back along the broken wall and peered around the edge. "This take too long! We need out of here now!" He then looked at the Autobot who was finishing up re-supplying his weapons. "Any suggestions?" he asked.

Roadblock nodded at Grimlock. "Yeah," he replied as he activated his weapon and stood up along the edge of the wall. "Blow straight through them and shove hot slag up their tailpipes!"

Grimlock laughed at his soldier's remark. "Me like that, but maybe that not best way today." He opened up his wrist communicator and looked at the video monitor. "Swoop!" he shouted. "What your situation?"

There was a crackle as the video feed was interrupted by the Decepticons' attempt to jam their transmission. Finally, a face appeared on the screen and smiled at Grimlock. "Probably the same as you, boss!" the Transformer replied. "I'd say that it's time to cut our losses and beat it!"

Grimlock immediately shook his head in disagreement with Swoop's suggestion. "No!" he shouted. "We not work this hard to just give up!" He then looked over at Roadblock and nodded at him. "Perhaps it time to get up close with Decepticons!" He looked back at the monitor and squinted at Swoop's image. "Have your group hold their ground until me give you signal."

Swoop looked back at Grimlock with heavy concern. "What's the signal, boss?' he asked.

Grimlock gazed back at Swoop's image. "Me think you will figure it out!" He then shut the screen and looked at the Autobots who were huddled around Grimlock. He grabbed his rifle with both hands and made sure that it was fully charged. "Me and Roadblock take the front," he began. He then looked over at Warpath. "You and Bombard lay down suppressive cover from here!"

Warpath looked over at the yellow mech who was standing next to him. "Blam!" Warpath shouted. "Just stay out of the way!"

The yellow Autobot known as Bombard smiled at Warpath's comments. "Yeah. I like da sound of that!" He grabbed the rifle from his shoulder and activated it. He looked over at Grimlock and nodded at him. "Ready when you are!"

Grimlock then looked at the last Transformer standing there. He was blue and black and looked completely out of place amongst the warrior Transformers that he was with. Grimlock looked into his optics and nodded at him. He then placed his hulking hand on the smaller Autobot's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "Flatout, once me and Roadblock engage Decepticons, you make your way to power nexus."

The smaller Autobot nodded back at Grimlock. "Gotcha big guy," he replied.

Grimlock knelt down next to Flatout and looked deeply into his blue optics. Grimlock saw a terrified mech who was desperately trying to be brave, and Grimlock respected that completely. "When you reach power nexus, you find the net-line and blow that bitch!"

Flatout looked up at Grimlock and nodded. "Understood," he said with complete seriousness.

Grimlock then slapped Flatout on the shoulder and stood up. He looked at the gathered Autobots and nodded at them. "Let's make them go crawling back to Megatron!"

Warpath immediately transformed into his tank mode and threw himself into reverse. He then rotated his turret and loaded several shells into the barrel. He revved his engine and prepared to enter the shower of laser fire from the Decepticons.

Bombard grabbed his rifle with both hands and made his way to the opposite end of the wall. "Ready when you are, Warpath."

The red Autobot chuckled and revved his engine a final time. "Bang-Zow!" he cried. "Let's do it!"

On the opposite end of the battlefield, Thrust reloaded his power cell in order to continue to keep the Autobots at bay. He closed the grid-link and watched the gauge as it ran to full capacity. He grinned at the sight of a fully recharged weapon and he looked over at his two partners.

"How's it look, Skullgrin?" he shouted.

The white and blue Decepticons continued to lay down a shower of laser fire at the Autobots who were trapped behind the broken wall. "They don't seem to be headed anywhere!" he shouted over the noise of the blasts from his weapon. He glanced over at the purple Decepticon who was loading another rocket into his own weapon. "Ready over there, Squeezeplay?" he asked.

The purple mech closed the cap on the missile launcher and heaved it on to his shoulder. "Sad to see these pukes die so quickly, eh Thrust?" he said. "But them's the breaks!" He walked over to the wall and leaned over to get support for firing his rocket.

"Just make sure that Grimlock dies!" Thrust exclaimed. "He's the one who's the pain in the chassis!"

Squeezeplay activated the targeting mechanism in the optic-viewfinder. He switched the imaging to normal view, and caught the sight of the wall where the Autobots were pinned down. He slowly turned the targeting dial and waited for the cross-hairs to line up correctly to get the best possible shot. "Just a few more astro-seconds," he said softly.

Just then, he caught a flash from behind the wall which blinded him for a split moment. He took the weapon and placed it on the ground. He adjusted his optics and saw several shots being fired from behind the wall. He turned to Thrust and Skullgrin and threw himself on the ground. "INCOMING!" he shouted.

Without any more warning, there was a massive explosion in between the three Decepticons. Skullgrin went flying against a wall and was immediately knocked into stasis lock due to the trauma that his central neural processor encountered due to the concussion wave from the blast. Thrust fell backward and covered his optics from the falling debris. He looked for his two partners and quickly stood up.

"What the slag was that?" he asked.

There were four additional explosions that rocked the immediate vicinity, sending Thrust tumbling to the ground.

Squeezeplay got up to his knees and saw Skullgrin on the ground. "Warpath got off a few shots!" he shouted. "Old Skully is out!"

Thrust stood up and ran over to the wall. He peered out and saw both Grimlock and Roadblock making their way towards them. "We've got bigger problems headed this way, Squeeze!" he shouted. He then began firing at the two charging Autobots as they zig-zagged across the battlefield.

Squeezeplay ignored the two Autobots and picked up his rocket launcher. He placed it on his shoulders and fired it without even activating the targeting computer within it. The rocket streaked toward the wall and slammed into it with ferocity. The wall exploded into pieces and smoke went everywhere. He turned to Thrust and smiled. "That should take care of Warpath!"

Just then, the red tank crashed through the fallen wall and charged toward the Decepticon. On top of Warpath sat Bombard who was continuously firing off rounds at Squeezeplay. The two Autobots were laughing at the sight of Squeezeplay who was dumbfounded by the sight of them.

Just behind Warpath was a small hover car who was waiting for the right opportunity to leave the area. Once he saw that the Decepticons were distracted, Flatout streaked around the corner of what was left of the wall and headed past the Decepticons' location. He skimmed the surface and monitored the situation of his friends taking care of the Decepticon.

Flatout threw himself into high gear and passed the three Decepticons without even being noticed by them. He slowed down a little when he realized that he was clear of any danger, and then he saw exactly what he was looking for.

The power nexus was controlled by the Decepticons for a substantial period of time since the fall of Overlord Titus over eleven vorns ago. Megatron knew that controlling the Northern Pole power supply was essential to claiming the upper half of Cybertron. The Decepticons have been siphoning energy from the Northern Pole and rerouting it to Darkmount where they were amassing weapons that were created for their operations across Cybertron and its moons. If the Autobots could just stop the siphoning momentarily, then they would have a slight advantage over the Decepticons.

Flatout opened up his rear compartment and began to ride along the side of the main pipeline. He then ejected several magnetic grenades that leached on the to metal pipe. He then swerved away from the pipe and headed away from it. Once Flatout reached a safe distance, he activated the detonation sequence and watched as the pipeline exploded violently.

Flames went everywhere and the ground beneath Flatout started to crack. He then transformed and shook his head at the sight of the destruction that he had caused.

"Maybe that was the signal Grimlock told Swoop to look for," he said to himself. Just then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around with a smile. "Not to shabby, if I say so myself, Grimlock." However, the smiled quickly disappeared as he saw the figure that stood over him.

The large Decepticon was grinning at the sight of the smaller Autobot. He squeezed down on Flatout's shoulder, creating a crunching sound as he crushed it. "Not too bad at all," he replied.

"Motormaster!" Flatout winced in pain. He reached for his shoulder and placed his hand on top of Motormaster's powerful grasp. Flatout felt Motormaster squeeze his shoulder until he lost all feeling in his left arm. The smaller Transformer fell to his knees and cried out in pain, causing Motormaster to smile with pleasure.

"Don't worry, scrapling," the Decepticon said with a smile. "It'll all be over for you soon." Motormaster then grabbed Flatout with his other arm and picked the young Autobot up over his head. He then threw Flatout against a wall and watched as he slid down in into a crumpled heap. Motormaster strolled over to Flatout and stood above him, feeling a sensation of superiority, something that he had not felt in a long time.

Motormaster then smiled at Flatout and kicked him in the abdomen, causing Flatout to cough up pink energon onto Motormaster's foot. The massive Decepticon stepped back and watched as Flatout vomited more energon. "Disgusting," the Decepticon said as he wiped his foot off on the ground.

Motormaster then reached for his energy sword and activated it. The blade began to give off a red and orange glow as he stared down at the Autobot. He held the blade over Flatout's head and grinned. "This is where you pay for you defiance, my dear Auto-brat!" He lifted the blade up over his head, and prepared to swing down, severing Flatout's head from his shoulders.

However, when he went to bring the blade down, he was not able to do so. He felt a slight tug on the sword, and Motormaster let go of the weapon. He then turned around and smiled at the sight of his new opponent.

"Ah, Grimlock," Motormaster said. "I was wondering if you were going to show!"

Grimlock took the sword and snapped the blade in half, as if it were nothing more than a dried out twig. He threw the two pieces to the ground and stepped menacingly toward the Decepticon known as Motormaster. "Me make sure that this sick game you play ends now!" he exclaimed.

Grimlock swung with his right arm and hit Motormaster squarely in the jaw, sending the Decepticon toppling backwards. The overpowered Decepticon landed on his back and watched as Grimlock charged at him with a ferocity that seemed to go unmatched. Motormaster quickly rolled out of the way in a last ditch effort as the Autobot leapt into the air and landed heel first where Motormaster's head was, creating a hole that told Motormaster that he was lucky. Motormaster then sprang to his feet and jumped on top of the Autobot hoping to catch Grimlock off balance.

"This is gonna be fun," he said into Grimlock's left audio receptor. "Oh, if Dragstrip and the rest could see this now!"

Grimlock laughed at Motormaster who seemed to be hanging on for dear life. "Pitiful," Grimlock stated sternly. The Autobot then swung his elbow back and hit Motormaster in the gut, causing him to let go of the hulking transformer. Grimlock then turned around and punched Motormaster in the jaw again, but this time he did not fall down, which surprised both Grimlock and Motormaster.

Instead, Motormaster laughed at Grimlock. "I'm afraid that this has to end," he said calmly. He then pulled out his plasma sidearm and pointed it at Grimlock's head.

Grimlock laughed at the sight of Motormaster's weapon. "Go ahead," Grimlock replied. "Shoot me if you think _that _will kill me."

Motormaster laughed at Grimlock's comment. "Oh, Grimlock," Motormaster said sharply. "I don't plan on killing _you_."

Motormaster then quickly pointed his weapon at Flatout and shot him in directly in the throat. Flatout's optics shattered as pink energon exploded out from them. Red and yellow flames spewed out from the young mech's mouth, and the ensuing heat was so intense that part of his face melted as it did so. He grabbed at his throat and clawed at the wound, ripping out circuits and wires in a feeble attempt to stop the pain and suffering.

Grimlock ran toward Flatout in an attempt to save the young mech, and that was all the distraction that Motormaster needed. He began to laugh as he transformed and peeled out, throwing up dust and debris at both Grimlock and his fallen friend. Grimlock turned his head and watched as Motormaster streaked off into the distance, and he thought about following him, but deep down Grimlock knew that his place was beside his dying comrade.

Grimlock grabbed onto Flatout's hand and held it as the young Autobot's body convulsed from the trauma. He watched as his body writhed violently from the wound. Grimlock heard several snapping sounds from within Flatout's body as it twisted around on the ground. Then, slowly, Flatout's body stopped moving. Grimlock felt Flatout release his hand and went into terminal stasis lock.

Grimlock looked at his friends unrecognizable face, and there was only one word that he could say. "Damn."

_Kaon_

Megatron slammed his fist on the desk, causing several of the gathered Decepticons to jump as they were startled by his sudden outburst of anger. He stood up and walked over to the wall. He then punched it, creating a hole twice the size of his fist. Megatron then turned around and gazed at the Decepticons who were standing there. His optics seemed to glow a brighter red than they usually did, which meant that he was not pleased with the recent news.

"Damn!" he screamed. "Damn Prime and his Autobots in their persistent means!" he shouted. He then walked back to his desk and slammed both fists onto it again, causing the desk to collapse. "How dare they challenge me on my _own _territory!" he looked over at one of the Decepticons who reported the news to Megatron. "And what did Ratbat do about this?" he asked.

The silver Decepticon shook his head at his leader, afraid of saying the wrong answer. "Um, he supposedly sent and party after them, but it turns out that they lost the tanker after it reached the Helios freeway network."

Megatron stood straight and shook his head at the news. He gazed back at the Decepticon who was completely freighted for the safety of his very spark. Megatron clenched his fists tightly and brought his arms down to his side. "Now listen here, Distaste," Megatron said as he began to gather his composure. "Go back to the communication room and tell Ratbat to return home. I have a mission that is quite fitting for his talents."

All of the gathered Decepticons wondered what Megatron was talking about. They thought that he would surely recall Ratbat and have him recycled alive, but instead Megatron seemed to be showing some compassion. The Decepticon known as Distaste nodded in acknowledgment of his orders. "Yes. Megatron," Distaste replied. He then turned around and left the room, thanking Primus that he was still alive.

As the door shut, Megatron turned around and gazed out of the window. He sighed to himself and began to rub his temple. "Incompetence," he said softly. "Why am I cursed with incompetence?"

"Perhaps it's because you're not attacking the real threat," a voice stated from the crowd. "Why do we bother with all of this nonsense when we can extinguish the threat of the Autobots by attacking Iacon itself?"

Megatron chucked for a moment at the sound of the remarks. He knew all too well who was foolish enough to question him at a time like this. "You're an idiot Starscream," Megatron said softly. "Nothing more than an idiot." He then turned around and gazed back at the red and silver Decepticon. Megatron then walked around the heap that was once his desk and approached Starscream. "In fact, if your ariel combat prowess was second to none, I'd think that I would tear out your spark bit by bit just for fun right now."

Starscream took a step backward, but Megatron kept walking closer toward him. "But. . . but Megatron," he stuttered. "I think that. . ."

"Or perhaps I'd rip out your optics," Megatron interrupted. He gazed deeper into Starscream's red optics as he smiled at the thought. "I'd mount your head module for a trophy after I reached down your throat and dissected you alive!"

Starscream backed up against a corner and could go no further. He shook his head at Megatron and brought his hands up to his chest. "But Megatron," he began. His voice trembled as he struggled desperately to find the words that would save his spark. "I was just thinking. . ."

"That's the problem, Starscream!" Megatron shouted. "You _don't_ think!" Megatron took his hand and slapped Starscream across the face, sending the Decepticon falling to the ground. He looked down at the cowering seeker and grinned at the sight of such a so-called warrior. "Question me again, Starscream, and I will end you insolence with strict finality that would make the bravest Transformer shudder with fear!"

Starscream wiped the pink energon off of the corner of his mouth. He looked up at Megatron and nodded at his leader. "Yes, mighty Megatron," he said. He looked for help in standing up, but all of the Decepticons turned their backs toward him, making sure to not acknowledge his request. He placed his right hand on his knee and stood up on his own power, gazing viciously at the gathered Decepticons.

_They will all regret this, as will you, 'mighty' Megatron!_ Starscream thought to himself as he regained his calmness. _There will come an orn when I will lead the Decepticons to victory over the Autobots, and the Decepticons will choose to follow me, not you in your arrogance!_

The door leading to the hallway began to open. Megatron turned his attention away from Starscream and watched as the blue Decepticon entered the room. The Decepticon was tall and seemed to be slightly larger than some of the other warriors in the room. He was accompanied by a small, black beast-like mech who walked on all fours, which was unique amongst Transformers.

Megatron rubbed his hands together as he watched as the two Decepticons strode into the room. He smiled at the sight of the Decepticon and his small follower. "Soundwave," Megatron said. "Perhaps you and Ravage will bring me news that will serve to correct my disposition."

Soundwave looked around at the room. He noticed that the desk was destroyed, and that there was a large hole in the wall. He turned his head and saw Starscream cowering in the background, and he knew that he missed something interesting that he could share with his fellow Decepticons. He glared at Starscream for a moment, concentrated briefly, and knew exactly what he had missed.

"Tell me, Soundwave," Megatron began. "What have you discovered?"

Soundwave turned his attention toward his leader. He stood straight and respectfully nodded as he began to speak to Megatron. "It seems the Autobot High Command has sent out a communique for them to gather in the council room in Iacon," he said in his monotone fashion. "Reports are sketchy at this time, but information suggests that they are convening about the threat of the energon shortage."

Megatron laughed briefly at the message from his most loyal soldier. "Shortage indeed, Soundwave," Megatron said. He glanced out of the window and watched as several Decepticons returned home from a patrol. "They must be getting _desperate _if they are to steal energon from me under my sensors!" He then gazed back at the blue and white Decepticon. "Anything else?"

"Negative," Soundwave replied. "However, I have sent an operative to investigate the situation further."

Megatron smiled at Soundwave. "Excellent," he replied. "Your usefulness never seems to wear out, unlike some of my other so-called warriors." He glanced over at Starscream as he finished his sentence. Megatron then turned around and gazed out of the window again, smiling at the sight of Cybertron and what could be his. "You see, Starscream," Megatron said. "All you need is patience, and everything will be as it should."

Starscream was unsure what Megatron's comment was about. He stepped forward and looked at the leader of the Decepticons. "What do you mean?" he managed to ask Megatron.

"You squawk on endlessly about how we need to be more direct when dealing with the Autobots," Megatron said. He then turned around and smiled at Starscream. "Perhaps you forget that it was through deception and stealth that we were able to grow into such a massive army without the House of Republic ever knowing of our true existence." His smile then grew larger. "And that is exactly what we need now."

Megatron looked at Soundwave and smiled coldly at him. "Once the information has been delivered, bring it to me immediately," he ordered. "I want to see what Optimus has in store for us and his precious planet!"


	2. Chapter 2: These Burdens

**Transformers**

**More Than Meets**

**The Eye:**

**Rebuilt**

**Part II:**

**These Burdens**

_Strasis Outskirts_

_Outer Rim of Iacon_

The five Transformers trudged though the tunnels below the surface of Strasis making their way to the section of the labyrinth that would allow them to move to the surface undetected. Each of them understood the severity of their mission, thereby overlooking the fact that they knew they would have to wash off for several breems in order to get the stench of the sewage off of their chassis.

The first Transformer who was leading the way stopped for a moment and looked up to see a beam of light shining down from a hole in the surface. He looked at the light as it shined down on his opened palm and thought for a moment. That moment triggered a memory in his neural processor. He remembered the tranquility before the war broke out and how the sun used to shine in the sky above, but those orns were long gone. Out of depression, he then turned his awkward shaped head and looked at the rest of the Transformers who were following him.

"Well," he began. "This is it." He turned his head and nodded at the smaller Transformer who was standing next to him. "Ready with those rods, Bee?" he asked.

The yellow mech stood no taller than half of the white Autobot's size. He smiled at his partner and pulled the seven glowing rods onto his shoulders with a little strain as he did so. "Ready as I'll every be, Wheeljack." He glanced over at the other three Transformers who were standing behind him and waived to them. "Thanks a lot, Springer," he said with a grin. "You, Joyride, and Getaway made all the difference. I'm not sure Wheeljack and I could get back through this maze alone."

The green Autobot signaled back to the yellow mech with his blue optics and patted the small Transformer on the head. "No problem, squirt," he replied happily. He turned his attention to the white Transformer who was getting ready to climb out of the tunnel and onto the city street above them. "Tell Magnus that the next time he needs some errands done, he should come out here and do them himself."

The white Autobot shook his head at Springer. "Magnus has his own hands tied with Scorponock's latest assault on the moons." The Transformer had no mouth. Instead, when he talked, two large ear like mechanisms glowed when he spoke. "Although I'd rather be back in the workshop, I suppose that running errands like this is crucial for us these orns."

Springer smiled back at the white Transformer and shook his head. "I think that there's something you're not telling us, right Wheeljack?" Springer asked. "Sneaking through tunnels might be my team's business, but sending the Autobot's top engineer on a snatch-and-grab run is kind of odd."

Wheeljack looked over at the small Autobot and pointed upward. "Let's go, Bumblebee." He made an attempt to ignore Springer's question, as per his mission parameters.

The yellow mech smiled back at Wheeljack and watched as he started climbing the ladder to the surface. He then looked back at Springer and nodded in his direction. "You three be careful getting back home," he said.

Springer smiled and shook his head at Bumblebee's comment. "I wouldn't worry about _us _getting back home," Springer stated. "I'd worry about any Decepticon welcoming committees up there on your way back to Iacon."

Wheeljack lifted the tube cover slightly and peeked outside. He looked around and saw no sign of any Decepticon patrolling parties. Wheeljack then shoved the lid to the side and pushed himself out of the tube. He quickly stood up and reached for the rods that Bumblebee was handing him.

"I hope these energy conductor rods are going to be enough to finish the job," he stated. "I really don't feel like crawling through that slop again, no matter how much I like Springer."

Bumblebee handed Wheeljack the last rod and finished climbing the ladder. He watched as Wheeljack transformed into his alternate mode. Wheeljack lifted up his rear door, allowing Bumblebee to load the glowing rods into him.

"That's it, Wheeljack," Bumblebee said. He closed Wheeljack's rear door, transformed quickly, and hovered in place next to his partner. "We better hurry up. We're already late for the briefing."

The two Autobots began their journey back to Autobot High Command in Iacon. They were careful to not attract any attention from Decepticons who may be looming in the vicinity. Wheeljack began actively scanning the area for Decepticon signatures.

"I hope Kup got the last tanker of energon back to Iacon without any hitches," Wheeljack said. "Otherwise, we'll be doing this again real soon."

Bumblebee skimmed the surface of the road and scanned the area as well. "I hope so too, Wheeljack," he replied. "This stench is wreaking havoc with my olfactory sensors!"

Suddenly, both Wheeljack and Bumblebee spotted several Decepticon signatures directly ahead of them. Wheeljack activated his protective shielding that he had custom installed for just these occasions. The black glass slid upward and encased the Autobot in a dark shell of armor. He then sped up and got ahead of Bumblebee.

"Get behind me, kid," Wheeljack said quickly. "I'll be able to shield you from their shots if they want to get personal!"

Off in the distance, several Decepticons spotted the approaching Autobots. A gold Decepticon walked out to the middle of the road and held up his hand. "Hold it right there!" he shouted. "You ain't going anywhere!"

Wheeljack threw himself into high gear and barreled down the street towards the Decepticon with no intention of stopping. "Here we go, Bee!"

The golden seeker held both arms up and pointed his shoulder mounted rifles at the approaching Autobots. "Fine with me!" He started firing his weapons at the Autobots. The laser beams hit Wheeljack squarely in the front, but bounced off of him and ricocheted back at the golden Decepticon, causing the mech to shield himself from the reflected beams.

Wheeljack then slammed into the golden seeker, sending him flying directly into the air. He hit the ground hard and broke his right arm on impact. He stood up, grabbed his wounded arm that hung there, and looked at the other three Decepticons who were standing there inquisitively. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he shouted at them. "After them you dolts, or you can explain this to Megatron!"

The three Decepticon seekers transformed and took off straight up into the air. Each of them began to target the two running Autobots. Once the two Autobots were locked in, the Decepticons started firing down upon them. Shots hit the surface of the street, causing both of the Autobots to swerve to avoid being either shot or thrown off track by hitting the newly formed holes.

One of the shots hit Wheeljack, causing him to veer to his right. He caught himself before he slid off the bridge, and then turned his attention toward Bumblebee. "How you holding up?" he asked.

"Just keep going!" he shouted over the sound of the street being torn apart by laser fire.

Just then, Bumblebee was hit from behind, sending the yellow Autobot tumbling forward in front of Wheeljack. His anti-gravity device went off-line, causing Bumblebee to slam onto the surface, throwing up sparks as he skidded along the surface of the metal road.

Wheeljack then skidded and turned himself around. He threw himself into reverse and brought two small laser turrets out from under the front of him. He rotated them upward and shot several times at the Decepticons. He hit a green seeker, causing him to stray off from the other two Decepticons.

Wheeljack watched as Bumblebee began to slow down. He turned around and got directly ahead of the young Transformer. He lowered a ramp and opened his rear door. Bumblebee managed to get onto the ramp, allowing Wheeljack to pull him in.

"You alright, Bee?" Wheeljack asked his friend as he began to close the door.

"I'll be okay," Bumblebee said as he laid there motionlessly. "I think it's my rear gravity axle."

Realizing that he was not going to outrun the last two Decepticons, Wheeljack spotted a side road and calculated a plan. "Hang on, Bumblebee!" he shouted. Suddenly, Wheeljack made a sharp turn, causing Bumblebee to hit off the inner wall of the larger Autobot. Wheeljack then jumped a curb and shot over into a different lane. He then shifted into high gear and headed toward the tunnel ahead of them. "They can't follow us in there!"

The last two Decepticons pulled up and watched helplessly as Wheeljack made his way into the tunnel that went under the surface of the planet. They turned around and headed back to their outpost with the disturbing information that the two Autobots got away.

_Shockwave's Laboratory_

_Kaon, Theta Quadrant_

The massive Decepticon entered the room and stood silently for a brief moment. He scanned the room with his single optic and looked for anyone who may be suspiciously lurking inside of it. Once he realized that he was completely alone, he closed the door and proceeded to walk to the opposite end of the room.

He was carrying a small glass tube in his right hand, the only one that he had. He brought the tube up to his optic and gazed at it for a moment. He became mesmerized by the sight of the tube, realizing its possible potential. He then placed the tube on the cold, flat slab and pressed the red button along the side of the counter top. A cylinder rose out from the consol, venting coolant as it opened up. The Decepticon unscrewed the top of the canister and delicately placed the glass tube inside of it. He then put the top back on, tightened the lid, and then watched as the cylinder retracted back into the consol.

The purple mech then walked over to the monitor and watched as data began streaming on the flat monitor. He gazed intently at the crucial information, realizing that he needed to update the encryption codex for his laboratory for security purposes.

The life of a Decepticon is lonely; one must struggle for survival against not only the Autobots, but against their own kin as well. However, loneliness is just the way that this Decepticon preferred his life. He did not join the Decepticons for the comradery, but instead he joined them for the lack of it. Besides, it provided him with the perfect opportunity to play Primus as he saw fit, making sure to state that his experiments were for the betterment of the Decepticons when they were indeed used for his own, selfish exploits.

When the data finished streaming across the large monitor, he walked over to three tubes that were bubbling with nourishing fluid. He gazed at the contents of the tubes and began to ponder several additional calculations. He then touched the first tube and watched as the portoform inside it moved around. The thought of creating a new evolutionary step for his species was intoxicating to him. He then looked over at the other two tubes and their contents.

"Excellent," he said softly. He then watched as tubing began to attach onto the stasis pods. Once they were sealed, green liquid poured into the tubes, causing the fluid inside to bubble with ferocity.

The Decepticon turned and walked over to the monitor and watched as additional data began to stream across the monitor. He nodded to himself in satisfaction as he witnessed his plans finally coming to a concrete realization.

_Iacon_

_Autobot High Command_

Optimus Prime leaned back in his chair and gazed at the holographic image of Cybertron. He watched as one of his officers took a laser pointer and directed the attention of the gathered Autobots to several locations on the holographic map of the planet.

"The Decepticon control over the Northern Pole power nexus has been compromised, thanks to Grimlock," he said as he looked at several Transformers who were also watching him. "That places their weapons massing plant in Kaon in a holding pattern as they search for alternative energon siphoning sources, leaving us with the ability to amass our own cache of weapons and energon."

A gray and white Autobot crossed his arms in front of his chest as he swivelled lightly in his chair. He then looked up at the Autobot who was doing the speaking. "How long do you think it will take until they are able to reroute their next source, Prowl?" he asked.

Prowl deactivated his laser pointer and rubbed his chin. "Honestly," he began with a sincere look in his blue optics. "I'm not quite sure." He turned his attention to the Autobot leader and sighed. "The Decepticons have been extremely resourceful in achieving new energy sources despite our recent efforts. I'm afraid that it might not be too long before their plants are up and running at full capacity."

Optimus Prime leaned forward and placed his elbows on the desk. He then looked back at the Autobot who asked Prowl the question. "What about the situation in Southern Radix, Maximus?" he asked.

The large Transformer nodded at Optimus Prime's question. "There's not much to tell," he started. "Scorponock has his own regiment nestled down tightly, and without any proper way to resupply my troops, I doubt that we're going to make any significant progress."

A blue and white Autobot rubbed his head as he listened to the conversation. "In other words, Maximus, we're at a stalemate with the Decepticons." He looked over at Optimus Prime who nodded in agreement with the remark. "Maybe it's time we looked at bringing Operation: Tomorrow back to life."

Optimus Prime made no movement. He stared at the image of his beloved planet and wondered how history came to such a disappointing juncture. "I can't say that I'm in agreement with that particular plan, Ultra Magnus," he said as he looked over at the Autobot. "I'm not sure that we have the right to bring our war to an innocent planet."

Prowl smiled and turned off the image of Cybertron. "What if there were no inhabitants on the planet?" he asked.

Optimus Prime looked questioningly at Prowl and sat back in the chair. "What do you mean by that, Prowl?"

Prowl brought an image of the galaxy up on the holographic projector and highlighted Cybertron's current location. "Deep scans done by the Science Guild indicate that there is indeed such a planet that exists; a planet that has an abundance of energon-like substances which can provide us with the ability to refuel not just our forces, but the entire planet of Cybertron as well."

Optimus Prime shook his head at Prowl's statement. "I will _not _have the Autobots ransack an unsuspecting planet of its resources. That would make us no better than Megatron and his Decepticons."

"There's more, Prime," Ultra Magnus stated. He stood up and walked over toward his leader. "The planet has an enormous amount of renewable resources that would allow for us to not strip the planet clean." He nodded toward Prowl, who then highlighted the location of the planet in question. "Its close proximity to its sun allows for solar power collection to be done; we're talking about an unlimited amount of energy that could be collected without even touching a single speck of dirt on the planet."

Optimus Prime leaned back in his chair and squinted his optics at the image of the galaxy. "Are you sure there is no life on the planet?" he asked.

"I think I can answer that one," a voice called from the other end of the table. A massive white Transformer stood up and smiled at Optimus Prime. "As you already know, I worked for Decepticon exploration just after the war broke out. Starscream and I both studied this planet, and we found no evidence of highly intelligent life forms." he looked over at Ultra Magnus who was smiling. "Of course, there are plenty of lower life forms, but there are no species that resemble intelligent life capable of creating a culture."

Optimus Prime looked up at the Autobot who addressed the issue at hand. "You said that you and Starscream studied the planet, that must mean that Megatron knows about it as well."

"Not necessarily," the Autobot replied. "When Starscream and I had our little 'falling out' prior to my return to the Autobots, I managed to purge all of the data from our laboratory; it's likely that he's been too preoccupied with his own agenda to bother relocating the planet."

Maximus turned to Optimus Prime and spoke. "Jetfire assures us that with the proper crew, we could have a solar-plant operational within several cycles, Prime." He looked over at Prowl and frowned. "The problem is transportation."

"Indeed," Jetfire said. "Transporting the supplies and crew would take a substantial amount of effort, if we went about it in stages." He then turned his head and looked at Optimus Prime. "What we need to do is transport the crew, engineering team, and supplies all at once, thereby giving us the immediate upper hand against the Decepticons."

Optimus Prime stood up and walked over to the image of the planet in question. "And how do we go about that?" he asked. He looked over at Ultra Magnus and rubbed his chin as he continued. "A ship that size would be enormous, quite unlike anything that has been deemed operational." He then looked down at the final member of the meeting who remained silent throughout the discussion. "What is your take on the situation, Preceptor?"

The Autobot scientist sighed and smiled at the image on the holographic projector. "Theoretically, amassing a ship that would be sufficient enough to transport the materials and personnel to create such a facility is time consuming, and I'm afraid that time is of the essence these orns."

Optimus Prime walked over to his seat and grabbed the back of it with both of his hands. "What do you mean by that?" he asked. "The Science Guild has given a projection of planet-wide stasis lock should we go by the current rate of consumption."

"I wish I was talking about the energon crisis, Prime," he said. "He stood up and walked over to the projector. He inserted a small diskette and activated the program on it. "What you are about to see took place three and a half vorns ago." Suddenly, two large asteroids appeared with technical readout along each one of them. "I discovered these moon-size asteroids four vorns ago, and I studied their trajectory constantly, spending most of my orns tied up in that watchtower doing so." The images disappeared, and a new image appeared. It displayed a digital re-enactment of the two asteroids colliding into each other. "The result was what I had predicted; they collided, creating an asteroid field that spans three times the size of Cybertron."

Prowl nodded and walked over to Preceptor. "What then?" he asked.

Preceptor crossed his arms and the image of the galaxy reappeared on it, this time with Cybertron clearly marked by its name written in yellow letters. "The asteroid field has been on a collision course with Cybertron for the past three and a half vorns." He glanced over at Optimus Prime who was looking at the image intently. "If my calculations are correct, the field will collide with Cybertron within the next vorn, maybe less depending on solar wind and other variables."

"So what do you suggest we do?' Optimus Prims asked.

"That's the problem," Preceptor stated with a heavy spark. "All of the traditional methods are unacceptable."

"What if we created a planet-wide deflector array," Maximus suggested.

Preceptor shook his head at the comment. "The energon required to created such a field would drain the planet completely dry; we'd solve one issue and be caught dead in the other."

Jetfire leaned on the table and placed his head on his hand. "What about a defensive satellite perimiter?" He looked over at Preceptor. "They could. . ."

"Megatron would think that it's a scam and destroy them within breems," Ultra Magnus stated.

Just then, there was a muffled sound of voices coming from the other side of the main door. All of the Autobots gathered in the room recognized the voices, and they smiled at each other. The door opened, and in walked two more Autobots.

"Sorry we're late, boys," the white Autobot stated. "Bumblebee and I ran into some old friends on our way back to Iacon."

Prowl immediately covered his nose as the two Autobots entered the room. "What the slag is that smell?' he asked. "Were you two rolling around in the sewer?"

"Yeah," the small Autobot said with a smile. "Wheeljack and I had to get Springer to assist us back because of the security measures the 'cons were using."

The white Autobot's optics widened and he glanced at the gathered Transformers. "So, what did we miss?" he asked.

Prowl walked over to Wheeljack and Bumblebee, pointing at the image of the asteroid field that was on the projector. "Preceptor has informed us of a situation that has taken priority over the energon crisis."

"What?" Bumblebee asked. "What could be more important than us running out of energy?"

Optimus Prime walked over to the small mech and placed his hand on the yellow Transformer's shoulder. "An asteroid field three times the size of Cybertron is on a collision course with us," he said somberly. He then looked over at Wheelkack who was already pondering a solution. "If something's not done soon, we'll be extinct before we even run out of energon."

Wheeljack looked across the table at Jetfire. "Did you tell him about the planet?" he asked.

Jetfire nodded. "He knows, but we ran into the problem of transporting supplies."

Wheeljack nodded at his friend and turned to Optimus Prime. "I think I can solve that issue." He entered a few numbers into the computer and an image of a golden ship appeared on the projector. "This is what I call the _Ark_," he said proudly. "She's capable of carrying three hundred Transformers, it has a full energon converter, capable of reformatting raw materials into energon, one hundred stasis pods, a medical laboratory designed by Ratchet himself, complete navigational charts that are refreshed on the fly, and quite a bit more if I must say so."

All of the Autobots stood there in amazement. Prowl then looked over at Wheeljack who was gazing proudly at the image of the ship. "How on Cybertron did you manage to build that?" he asked.

Wheeljack paused for a moment and then answered. "I'd really like to not get into the specifics, Prowl." He chuckled to himself and looked down at Bumblebee who was smiling as well. "Let's just say that a by-the-book mech like yourself would probably frown upon my methods."

Preceptor studied the technical readouts of the ship, and then looked at Wheeljack. "What do you have for offensive weaponry?" he asked kindly. "Perhaps there's something on the ship that can be used to destroy the asteroid field while en route to the planet."

Wheeljack brought up a closer image of the ship and highlighted the nose fo the golden shuttle. "There's a forward displacement battery that produces an ionic pulse beam, quite capable of shattering the asteroids to dust." He then pointed to the edge of the wings. "We also have several sonic field generators, which, in theory I might add, would generate a sonic pulse which would move the object in question."

Optimus nodded at Wheeljack. "How long until you have it ready for flight?' he asked.

Wheeljack turned to look at his leader. "She could be ready within six cycles."

"Excellent," Optimus Prime stated. He then looked over at the rest of the Autobots who were gathered in the room. "Prowl, I want a complete list of available Autobots who are capable of such a mission."

Prowl nodded at Optimus Prime. "Yes sir," he replied. "Who will be leading the venture?"

Optimus crossed his arms in front of his chest and gazed back at Prowl. "I will," he said sternly.

"But Prime," Ultra Magnus interjected. "Wouldn't it be best if we were to send someone else in place of you?"

Optimus Prime shook his head. He understood what was at stake with this mission. "No," he replied. "The mission for the survival of our planet is a duty that befalls the leader of the Autobots. I'm also going to ensure that the safety of the planet we will be traveling to will not be jeopardized." The hulking Autobot looked back at Prowl. "Have the list of available Autobots on my desk by tomorrow."

Prowl nodded. "Yes, Prime."

Optimus Prime then looked at all of the gathered Autobots in the room. "What we are doing is for the benefit of our race, and that is the reason why we will be going to the planet. I cannot afford the likes of Megatron, Scorponock, or any other Decepticon to obtain knowledge of this mission."

All of the Autobots nodded in agreement with Optimus Prime, each ill aware of the situation that was about to brew without their knowledge. The Autobots left the room en masse, leaving Optimus Prime alone. He gazed at the image of the _Ark_, and then he brought up the holographic picture of Cybertron.

_May Primus forgive us_, he thought to himself as he contemplated the severity of the mission, and the threat of bringing the war with the Decepticons to another planet, something that pulled at the very core of his spark.

Unknowing to the Autobots, a small mechanical creatute gazed upon the conference room of Autobot High Command. As it witnessed the Autobots leave the room, it let out a small squwak, The red and black mechanoid detached its audio amplifier from the thick glass and retracted it underneath his golden beak. His claws released themselves from the steel frame that supported the glass, and the Decepticon creature began to hover in place. He activated his homing beacon and shot straight up into the sky, making his way back to his master in Kaon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Transformers**

**More Than Meets**

**The Eye:**

**Rebuilt**

**Part III:**

**The Best Laid Plan**

_Kaon_

Both Shockwave and Scorponock strode down the hallway with an uncontested intensity. Shockwave continued to glance out of the hallway window with his single optic to view the sights of the Decepticon city-state of Kaon. Even as he spoke to his Decepticon counterpart, he still watched the horizon of Kaon with a delight that could go unmatched by any other sight in the universe.

"Are you even listening to me, Shockwave?" Scorponok asked bluntly.

Shockwave turned his head slightly and sighed at the green and purple Decepticon. "Yes, Scorponok," he stated as if he already had enough of the conversation with the massive Decepticon. "I am listening."

Scorponok huffed and continued walking down the hallway. Although he never trusted Shockwave completely, he understood that he did not agree with the current situation that the Decepticons were in with the Autobots. Therefore, he was the only mech that he could talk to without the fear of betrayal. "If Megatron proceeds down this path, then we surely will be thrown into a complete stalemate with the Autobots."

Shockwave chuckled at the naivete of Scorponok and his statement. He then fully focused on his partner and gazed into his optic-visor. "My dear Scorponok," Shockwave began. "I believe that you have the entire situation blown off course." He stopped at the elevator door and pressed the call button with his right hand. He then looked up at Scorponok and shook his head at his comrade. "We are not _headed _toward a stalemate with the Autobots, but rather we _are _at a stalemate with them. If my calculations are correct, and there is no doubt that they most certainly are, we will continue to fight for a planet that will completely shut itself down within the course of several hundred vorns, at the most!"

Scorponok grunted at the thought of stasis lock. He looked at Shockwave and sneered at him. "This is pitiful!" he groaned. "What we need is change!"

The words seemed to please Shockwave, although he would never show it to any mech for fear of persecution by his peers. He glanced at the elevator as it locked into place. "Perhaps you are correct, Scorponok," he stated plainly. The doors opened and both of the Decepticons walked into the elevator. "This continued war with the Autobots has created stagnation amongst our best warriors, and I'm sure that it doesn't sit well with them."

Scorponok nodded at the Decepticon strategist. "There are times when I wonder why we continue to fight this war at all!" The elevator began to ascend to the top of the Decepticon citadel. Scorponok placed his hand on the railing and continued. "What could be achieved if this vendetta against Prime was set aside is unimaginable. Imagine the possibilities of a united race!"

At that moment Shockwave understood that Scorponok did not share the same vision of the future, which pleased him completely. Shockwave knew now that Scorponok would much rather put the differences between Autobot and Decepticon aside and work together for the improvement of Cybertron and its people, whereas Shockwave would much rather rule over the planet entirely. In Shockwave's opinion, this eliminated the threat of fighting for rule with Scorponok, should Megatron falter in his leadership abilities.

"Our opinion matters little," Shockwave stated coldly in an effort to hide his beliefs. "As long as Megatron leads the Decepticons, we are at his disposal, and the future that he envisions is the one that we strive to achieve."

The elevator began to slow down as it reached the top level. Scorponok glanced over at Shockwave just before the doors parted and spoke gently. "Then what we need is for Megatron to disappear."

The doors opened and revealed the conference room in its entirety. At the far end of the room stood Megatron and Soundwave. Megatron gave a cold smile that indicated that he was not happy. He waived to the two of them and spoke.

"There they are," Megatron said with sarcasm. "The last of my District Magistrates. What ever would I do without the likes of you?"

Scorponok smiled at Megatron and walked over to his leader. "Megatron," he said. "We arrived once we received word that. . ."

"And Shockwave," Megatron said as he turned his attention to the strategist. "Truly, it is an _honor_."

Shockwave became confused at Megatron's attitude. He was unaware of any Autobot victory or advancement in either his district or Scorponok's which would displease his leader. He focused on Megatron completely in an attempt to unearth the reason . "Megatron, Soundwave sent word that. . ."

"Indeed he has, my 'loyal' subjects." Megatron walked over to his chair and stood over it. "Please, sit down. We have much to discuss today."

Each of the Decepticons, except for Soundwave, sat in their designated chairs. Shockwave looked at the others who were in the room. He saw Starscream who sat next to Scorponok. There was Bludgeon, Hook, Mangle, and Skystalker on the opposite side of the table, while Scheme, Nightlife, and Snaptrap sat on the same side that he did. They all focused their attention on Megatron, who motioned to Soundwave to activate the holographic projector in the middle of the table.

"We've been at war with the Autobots for too long," Megatron said. "This damn war has drained our supply of energon, thereby putting us on the endangered species list." An image of Cybertron appeared on it from the projector. It was glowing yellow, depicting the Golden Age of Cybertron, but then it began to slowly fade into the black husk that it had become. "We've begun to extinguish our race completely, and there seems to be nothing that either side can do about it; we were both willing to enter stasis lock on a global level, as long as the other side never gained control of the planet."

Starscream sighed as if he was unimpressed by the lecture. "What has _this _got to do with anything that we don't already know, mighty Megatron?" he asked boldly. "It seems as if our little history lesson reviews nothing new."

Megatron smiled at Starscream. "Starscream, you're an **_IDIOT_**!" Megatron snapped. "You see, my incompetent friend, all this time both sides have been scrounging for resources on this planet, resources that are rapidly becoming extinguished." He glanced at Soundwave briefly, who then switched the image of Cybertron to a new planet. "What if we had unlimited energy at our disposal?"

All of the Decepticons gazed at the planet's image and wondered what Megatron had in mind. It was unlike anything that they ever saw before. The planet was mostly blue, indicating large amounts of water which could be converted into energon. Several large land masses were strewn about on the face of the planet, and it was orbited by two moons.

Megatron sneered at the gathered Decepticons. "I find it somewhat disappointing that this information of such a grand level had to come to me through espionage, rather than from any of my 'trusted' advisors." Megatron glared at Shockwave and then at Scorponok. "I thought that each of you were talented enough in your own fields to give us the edge over the Autobots, but that was a foolish notion on my part!"

Hook looked over at Megatron and began to speak cautiously. "Most of us have been busy focusing on the war here on Cybertron, attempting to gain a strategic advantage over the Autobots. If we were granted the opportunity to. . ."

"Spare me your sniveling, Hook," Megatron said as he held up is hand toward the green Constructicon. "The point is that we _failed _to discover this planet before the Autobots did, but I suppose creating individual bases of power is _far_ greater than the survival of our faction!" Megatron again glanced at both Shockwave and Scorponok as he finished speaking.

Shockwave, realizing that Megatron was through, formulated a verbal defensive strategy for his questionable actions, and then looked up at Megatron and spoke. "It is with a heavy spark that I must admit that my own. . ."

"Oh, enough with the mindless banter already!" Starscream shouted across the table. "You've been so tied up in your holier-than-thou attitude that you've neglected your duties to the Decepticons!"

Shockwave stood up and placed his arms on the table. "How dare you!" he shouted. "If it wasn't for me and. . ."

"**_ENOUGH_**!" Megatron shouted as he slammed his fist on the table, causing it to break. Both of the Decepticons turned their attention toward their leader. "The fact of the matter is that Prime and his band of do-gooders have discovered something that can severely tip the balance of power to their side! That's not something that I will allow in _this _lifetime or in my _next_!"

Scorponok looked at his leader and raised his claw-like hand. "What do you suggest that we do about this?" he asked.

Megatron smiled at Scorponok's question and sat in his chair. Soundwave then approached Megatron from behind and stood at his right side. "I'm glad you asked, Scorponok." Megatron turned off the projector and looked at the gathered Decepticons. "I will be leading a team of Decepticons on a mission to intercept Optimus Prime and take the planet for myself!"

Skystalker smiled and nodded at the idea. "Perfect," he said. "With a base of power established on another world, we can not only conquer Cybertron, but we can expand our faction throughout the entire galaxy as well, thereby creating an empire the likes nobody has ever seen before!"

Megatron nodded at his Space Commander's enthusiasm. "Indeed, Skystalker. With the Autobots so low on energon, taking a planet such as this would wipe out the Autobots with one stroke of the hand!"

The green and gray Decepticon called Mangle looked at Megatron with curiosity. "Shouldn't we send someone else to lead the mission?" he asked. "If the Prime. . ."

"The Prime is _my _responsibility, Mangle, and _nobody _better forget that!" Megatron shouted. He then stood up and walked over to the opposite end of the room. He gazed out of the large window and smiled at the sight of the stars above. "I will destroy Optimus Prime, as I did with his predecessor _and_ the House of Republic!" He turned around and looked at Soundwave. "Have Rumble, Frenzy, Laserbeak, Ravage, and Buzzsaw accompany you on this mission, Soundwave." He walked over and placed his hand on Soundwave's shoulder. "At least I'll have the pleasure of knowing someone who actually gives a damn about my vision will accompany me on this venture."

Soundwave nodded at Megatron. "As you command, Megatron," he said in his monotone voice.

Megatron paused for a moment and then spoke to Soundwave again. "Bring Reflector as well. They should come in handy should we need to resort to spying on the Autobots."

Soundwave nodded at his leader's orders again. "As you command., Megatron," he repeated.

Megatron the looked at Starscream, causing the Decepticon to stir in his seat. "Bring Thundercracker and Skywarp as well. I have needs for their. . . talents!"

Starscream looked puzzled by Megatron's request. "Does that mean I will be. . ."

"Yes it does, Starscream," Megatron said with a smile. He then looked at the gathered Decepticons and sneered at them. "My team will go to the far moon and board the _Nemesis_. We will follow the Autobots through this asteroid field, and then to the planet itself." He smiled and thought of the victory that would ensue from his venture. "Once we wipe out the Prime and his little band of Autobots, the universe will be ours for the taking!"

_Iacon_

_Autobot High Command_

Red Alert walked next to Optimus Prime and scratched his head. As loyal as he was, Red Alert was unsure that his leader was making the right decision on this venture across the universe. He looked over at Optimus Prime and spoke his opinion. "I'm not sure that an endeavor such as this is in our best interest, Prime." he said cautiously.

Optimus Prime looked at his friend and nodded. "And what reasons do you have, besides the obvious ones?"

Red Alert stopped in the hallway and focused on Optimus Prime, "Don't get me wrong, Optimus. I fully believe that establishing a base of operations on another planet so rich in energy deposits is a valued concept, but sending you instead of another Autobot is quite. . ."

"Foolish?" Optimus Prime added knowing that Red Alert would never use such a word when referencing his leadership abilities.

Red Alert turned his head for a moment, realizing that his leader was able to say the word that he was afraid to. "Perhaps it would be best if Magnus or Maximus led the mission." The two Autobots continued to walk down the hallway toward the hanger where the _Ark _was stationed. "What if something goes horribly wrong?"

Optimus Prime stopped at the entrance to the hanger and turned around. He laughed for a brief moment as he pressed the button to open the reinforced doors. "I'm glad you have so much faith in me." He then looked down at his trusted advisor and nodded at his concern. "I appreciate the thoughtfulness, Red Alert, but there is no changing my mind; I will be leading this mission through the asteroid field and to the new planet."

The door opened and the two Autobots gazed into the hanger in astonishment. They looked at the enormous ship that took up the entire area. It was nothing like they had ever seen in their entire lifetime. The two mechs began walking over to a group of Autobots who were gathered underneath the wing of the monstrous ship. Optimus Prime waived at the group of Transformers who were awaiting their arrival.

"What's the situation look like, Wheeljack?" Optimus Prime asked the ship's designer.

The quirky Autobot turned his attention to Optimus Prime and handed him the data pad that contained all of the information about the ship on it. "She's almost ready for departure," he stated happily. "The energon that Kup procured for us was more than enough to get the job done." He looked over at the older Autobot who was standing next to him and slapped Kup on the shoulder. "I guess that he's still got some usefulness left in that old chassis of his."

Kup grimaced at Wheeljack and his comment. "I'll show you some usefulness," he huffed. He looked over at Optimus Prime and smiled. "Please tell me that you're gonna leave old hex-nuts here out in the outer rim before you return."

Optimus Prime laughed at Kup. "Believe me, Kup, there are times that I wish I could do that!" He then looked at the data pad and accessed some of the information on the ship. "So we've got all of the hardware loaded onto the ship, Prowl?"

Prowl nodded proudly at his commander. "All of the equipment was loaded up first thing this orn." He handed Optimus Prime another data pad and pointed at the equipment list. "You'll see that we've added a reformatting module onboard the ship in the engineering lab."

Optimus Prime stared at Prowl with a puzzled look on his face. "Why's that?" he asked.

Prowl looked over at Wheeljack and smiled. "Wheeljack thought that it would be best to bring it along should we need to adapt to the environment."

"You can't be too cautious," Wheeljack added. "If the terrain is to difficult for us to navigate in our alternate modes, then we'll need something to help in the adaptation process."

"Excellent," Optimus Prime said. He then looked over at Red Alert. "Is there anything else that you feel concerned about?"

Red Alert knew that there was no changing his leader's mind. He shook his head and replied. "No."

"Very well," Optimus Prime stated. He handed Wheeljack the data pads and looked at Prowl. "How about the roster?" he asked his second in command.

Prowl smiled and the two of them started walking to the ramp that led into the ship. "I've compiled a list of Autobots that should accompany us on the voyage." He handed it to Optimus Prime and continued walking. "The list is quite lengthy, but I thought it best to have too many mechs than to have too few. Besides, Wheeljack said the ship can handle a crew of three-hundred."

"Excellent thinking, Prowl," Optimus Prime said. He looked at the names that were streaming across the pad's monitor. Each name had a primary function listed after it as well. "We _are_ better off having a larger crew than a small crew, should something happen."

The two Autobots reached the ramp of the ship and began to walk inside of it. As they walked inside the shuttle, there were several Autobots working on various maintenance duties to make sure that the _Ark _was ready for departure. They stopped at the top of the ramp as Optimus Prime looked at some of the Autobots that would be joining him.

"Sideswipe and Sunstreaker?" he asked with hesitation. "It's not like you to bring such 'loose' Autobots on such a structured mission."

Prowl nodded at his leader's remarks. "Those two are on there for redemption," Prowl said with a smile. "Consider this some 'community service' that they own me."

Optimus Prime nodded and continued looking at the list. Prowl noticed that Optimus Prime had some reservation about some of the members of the list, so he began to elaborate.

"I chose Mirage and Jazz simply because of their stealth abilities," he began. He looked at some of the maintenance drones who were finishing some reinforcement welding on the ship's hull. "Brawn, Ironhide, and Cliffjumper were chosen for heavy duty, while Bumblebee, Hound, and Windcharger were chosen for their scouting abilities, as well as their fuel efficiency."

Optimus Prime nodded as Prowl went through the roster. "Huffer was an obvious choice, as was Trailbreaker."

Prowl looked up at Optimus and nodded. "Huffer was hesitant on coming, but he's one of the best design engineers that we have, outside of Grapple and Hoist."

"Who I noticed were not on the list," Optimus Prime said.

"I would have taken them both, but that would be short changing the Autobot forces on Cybertron." Prowl then looked at the list again and continued. "Bluestreak volunteered for the mission, and I can't turn him down because of his uncanny ability to bug me constantly." He then looked at the last two names on the list. "Gears thought it best to come along to keep Huffer in check, which I couldn't argue with either."

"And then there's Ratchet," Optimus Prime said.

Prowl looked confused for a moment. "It was between First Aid and Ratchet, but I thought that separating First Aid from the rest of the Protectobots would be too difficult. Besides, Ratchet is the best, and if we can only have one medic, I'd want him."

"Anything else?" Optimus Prime added.

"Not that I can imagine," Prowl replied.

"Excellent," the Autobot leader said. The two mechs walked to the cockpit and watched as Sandstorm and Pointblank finished the computer diagnostics. Optimus Prime smiled at the two of them as they gathered their equipment and began to leave the bridge of the massive shuttle.

"She's all clean," Sandstorm said. "Chromedome installed that supercomputer that he and Wheeljack designed."

Optimus Prime looked over at Sandstorm. "What supercomputer?" he asked.

"Teletran-1," Pointblank said as he piekced up the last of his tools. "It's interfaced with the reformatting program, as well as the entire ship." He smiled and looked at the control consol of the _Ark_. "They've spent quite a bit of time tied up wiring that thing together."

Prowl looked over at Optimus Prime. " Wheeljack thinks that we need a logical advantage if we are to navigate into unknown territory. He says that Teletran-1 should be able to compute through multiple scenarios on the fly."

Optimus Prime nodded at the statement made by Prowl. "Indeed," he said. "Every advantage makes it a little less challenging for us as well." He watched as both Sandstorm and Poimtblank left the room. He turned and looked out of the frontal window of the cockpit. "When should the _Ark _be ready for departure?"

Prowl looked at the data pad and smirked. "It should be ready by tomorrow."

"Excellent," Optimus Prime said. "Have the designated Autobots meet us here in twnety-five breems so we can brief them on the entire scope of the mission." Optimus Prime stood there and watched as the final preparations were completed. He walked over to the command chair and sat down in it. He looked around the cockpit and began to wonder if this was indeed the right choice for him and his fellow Autobots to embark on.

_Omani-Attune_

_Far Moon of Cybertron_

The Decepticon shuttle landed at the sight of the complex where Scorponok had his forces stationed. The wings folded upward as the ship nestled closer to the ground. Several forward gun batteries also rotated upward. The landing gears descended and touched the ground softly. There was a hissing sound that resonated from the belly of the ship as the hydraulic gears locked into place.

Three Decepticons made their way from the large hanger and walked toward the shuttle as its ramp began to extend to the ground. Once they made their way to the end of the ramp, they stood at full attention as they prepared to greet the passengers of the shuttle.

The door of the shuttle opened and out walked Megatron. He stood at the top of the ramp for a moment and gazed out at the sight of the moon base. He smiled at the fact that his forces had such a base created without any Autobot resistance. Megatron looked down and saw the three Decepticons at the bottom of the ramp, and then he began to walk down it, followed closely by Soundwave, his most trusted and loyal followers. He glanced over at one of the Decepticons who was there to escort the party to the hanger.

"Is everything ready?" he asked the white Decepticon.

The cone-headed Decepticon nodded in acknowledgment of Megatron's question. "The shuttle is almost prepared, Megatron," he said. "There are a few slight adjustments that need to be made in order to cloak your departure from the moon, but other than that, everything is set for take off."

"Excellent, Ramjet," Megatron said. "See that all is ready upon my command. I do not want to give the Autobots any more leverage in the situation than they already have."

"Yes, Megatron," Ramjet said. He then turned around and began walking to the hanger where the Decepticons were preparing their own ship for deep space conquest.

Megatron and the rest of his party entered the hanger and gazed at the ship that stood there. It was larger than any other ship that they ever scanned, and each of them knew that it would be an enormous responsibility to navigate such a ship. Megatron turned and faced his warriors.

"This, my fellow Decepticons, is the _Nemesis_!" he said with a smile. "This ship will usher in the demise of Optimus Prime and his pathetic band of Autobots!"

A black technician made his way over to Megatron and handed him a small data pad that contained the technical specifications of the ship. "You'll find everything on this pad, Megatron," he said. Megatron activated the pad and read the information as it scrolled upward. "You'll see that we've installed a cloaking device that will blind Autobot scanners from detecting you."

"Will it hide us from the Autobot ship?" Megatron asked.

"Yes," the black Decepticon said. "The device will mask any evidence of your departure."

Megatron smiled and nodded at the Decepticon. "Excellent." He turned to his warriors and pointed to the ship. "Get on board the shuttle and prepare for launch!"

The Decepticons made their way to the entrance ramp on the back of the ship. They watched as many Decepticon drone-mechs finalized the last preparations to make the ship ready for liftoff. As the crew of the _Nemesis _reached the ramp, they saw another Decepticon departing from the ship. Megatron stopped the Transformer by grabbing him on the shoulder.

"Is everything alright, Blitzwing?" Megatron asked suspiciously.

Blitzwing hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. "Ab. . absolutely, Megatron," he said nervously. "The last scans confirmed that the _Nemesis _is prepared for departure whenever you are ready."

Megatron sneered at the sight of such a warrior. He let him go and began to enter the ship. Blitzwing rubbed his shoulder where Megatron held him, and then continued down the ramp. He looked back at the ship and began to quicken his pace toward the opposite end of the hanger.

Once he was out of the view of the ship, he activated his wrist communicator and spoke into it. "Do you read me?" he said softly.

An image of Shockwave appeared on the screen. "What is the status of the mission, Blitzwing?" he asked.

Blitzwing peered around to make sure that he was not followed. He then looked back at the digital image and spoke again. "Megatron is on board the _Nemesis_," he said. "I've installed the navigational virus as ordered. Once the _Nemesis _is no longer within initial scanning, the navigational computer will scramble the data, thereby erasing the information which would allow the _Nemesis _to return to Cybertron."

"Excellent," Shockwave replied. "The virus should also cloak Cybertron from any scanning that they may perform if they try to return. It should develop an echo in the opposite direction, thus throwing their return off course." Shockwave looked deeply into Blitzwing's optics. "The virus makes it impossible for any Decepticon to track them once they leave long range scanners," Shockwave stated. "It will make their transponder frequency invisible to all our tracking efforts; there will be no way we can contact Megatron."

"But if Megatron succeeds, he'll have all that energon at his disposal," Blitzwing added.

Shockwave chuckled for a moment. "My dear Blitzwing," he said with a hint of compassion. "All the energon in the universe will do nothing for Megatron if he cannot return to Cybertron."

Blitzwing looked around again and then spoke into his wrist. "Is it wise to dispose of Megatron in such a manner?"

A look of seriousness came over Shockwave's single optic. He gazed coldly at Blitzwing and nodded. "Megatron's thinking pattern is illogical, at best," he snapped. "He's allowed his vendetta against Optimus Prime to blind him from our true goals." He paused for a moment as he realized that he would finally be rid of Megatron. "Perhaps it is time that the Decepticons began to embark down a new path of leadership."

The communication device snapped shut, and Blitzwing was left alone in the hanger. He stood up straight and began to walk out from behind the corner, hoping that he would not be spotted by any suspicious Decepticons who were lurking about.

_Outside of the Decepticon Moon Base_

Speedometer retracted his scanning visor and slid down against the rubble. He took the image-scans and uploaded them to his small computer. He pulled a wire from under his wrist and plugged it into a small port on the side of the computer. He watched as the wire glowed green as the information from the computer was uploaded to his internal data-driver. Once the image-scans were fully loaded, he unplugged the wire and folded the computer in half. He placed the flat computer inside of his chest compartment, and then transformed. He revved his engine twice and then sped off across the vast openness of the moon.

"Damn!" he shouted to himself. "Magnus is not gonna like this slag!"

The young Autobot threw himself into high gear and made his way to the Autobot safe-house on the moon. He extended his antenna and began to encode a signal to the other Autobots stationed on the far side of the moon.

"I ain't gonna make it in time," he said. "Hopefully, Streetwise can get this slag back to Magnus before Prime leaves!"

The red Autobot sped across the surface of the moon knowing that time was of the essence, and that there was none to spare.


	4. Chapter 4

**Transformers**

**More Than Meets**

**The Eye:**

**Rebuilt**

**Part IV:**

**The End of the Beginning**

_Iacon_

Ultra Magnus watched as the _Ark _moved upward into the atmosphere. He constantly kept checking the radar at his side making sure that the Decepticons were not engaging the departure of the Autobot spacecraft. With a concerned look chiseled onto his metallic face, Ultra Magnus looked over at Broadside who was manning the tracking station.

"Any sign of Decepticon activity?" Ultra Magnus asked.

Broadside shook his head and glanced over at Ultra Magnus, who was obviously growing more nervous by the astro-second. "Nothing so far, Magnus," he said. "As far as I can tell, Countdown and Springer did their job jamming the Decepticon radar station in Kokular."

Ultra Magnus then looked back at the visual image of the _Ark_. He rubbed the top of his head and gazed intently at the image. "Can we establish a link with the ship yet, Chromedome?" he asked.

The computer specialist shook his head at Ultra Magnus. "Not yet," he replied. "There's too much interference resonating from the magnetic output by the _Ark_'s shielding." He looked over his shoulder at the worried Autobot. "Once the ship hits the upper atmosphere, we can get a solid link with Prime."

The door to the control room opened, causing Ultra Magnus to jump. He turned his head to see Kup and Scrags enter the room.

"How's it holding up on this end, Magnus?" Kup asked with a smile.

Ultra Magnus attempted to blow off his concern for his brother and the crew of the _Ark_, but he knew all too well that the survival of the Transformers depended upon Optimus Prime's success. "As well as can be expected, Kup," he said. Ultra Magnus walked over to the large glass window and watched as the shuttle disappeared into the heavens. "I just hope that Prime knows what he's getting into up there."

_Iacon_

_Science Guild Observation Tower Thirty-Seven_

Black explosions littered the sky above the outskirts of Iacon. The ground cannons designed to guard the city-state from Decepticon ariel attacks shot rapidly into the air hoping to destroy the five approaching intruders. Autobots nervously loaded the heavy caliber shells into the guns and watched as their partners targeted the Decepticons.

Above all the activity in Iacon, Blitzwing streaked across the sky and began to activate his internal targeting computer as he came upon the Science Guild's observation tower designed to monitor the activity of Optimus Prime and the _Ark_. He targeted the base of the structure and opened up a communication link with the other four approaching Decepticons who were also dodging the fire from below.

"Keep your optics peeled for the feed-line!" Blitzwing shouted. "If you hit that, then the whole flarging compound will come crashing down upon them!"

A white Decepticon rolled in the air and began scanning for the power feed-line that his commanding officer referred to. Suddenly, the targeting computer locked onto the power source that represented the feed-line to the tower. "I got it!" he said. "I've got that slaggin' thing locked!"

"Great, Ramjet!" Blitzwing screamed over the roar of the explosion that shook him. "Dirge and Dreadwind will follow you through to the line while Cloud Killer and I lay down some cover fire!"

Blitzwing and Cloud Killer activated their afterburners and climbed up into the sky. They opened up their bomb-bay doors and let the warheads fall to the surface. Both Decepticons watched with an evil glee as dozens of Autobots bellow began running for cover. Many of them jumped off of their gun-turrets while others stayed focused on shooting down the rapidly approaching Decepticons. Either way, their actions were worthless. The bombs slammed on the surface of the planet and unleashed a force of plasma-energy that began to instantly incinerate anything in the blast radius.

Blitzwing chuckled to himself as he brought his forward turrets online. "Easy pickings, eh Cloud Killer?"

The blue Decepticon seeker rotated his laser turrets forward as well. He began to target several running Autobots as he began to descend lower to the planet's surface. "I wish there was _some _resistance, Blitz," Cloud Killer said apathetically. "This is a _bore_!"

Behind them followed Ramjet, Dirge, and Dreadwind. Each of them now had a clear path straight to the tower, as well as to the feed-line. They all brought their ion-disruptor cannon online and targeted the fragile feed-line that lead to the tower. The three Decepticons lined up side by side, and fired their cannons in unison. The white balls of energy gracefully made their way toward the power line, and then slammed into it, causing a chain reaction.

The feed-line began to explode beneath the surface of Cybertron, creating a zig-zagging line on its path to the tower. It made its way haphazardly toward the Science Guild tower, and hit it at the base of the complex. The entire foundation of the complex exploded with such fury that each of the Decepticons began to depart from the scene. The tower began to explode upward floor by floor, starting from the bottom. Glass shattered and flames shot out from the dying building. Finally, when the roof of the tower exploded, the antenna on top of it crumpled over and fell to the surface of the planet causing any surviving Autobots and civilians to flee for cover.

The two groups of Decepticons met up and started back toward Kaon. Blitzwing was pleased with his work, and he was sure that his commander, Shockwave, would be happy with his efforts to thwart any contact with the _Ark _by the Autobots.

_Iacon_

Ultra Magnus rubbed his optics and slammed his fist onto the table. "DAMMIT!" he shouted. "This _can't _be happening!"

The image of Preceptor was glitchy, at best. The acting Autobot commander stood up and walked over to the monitor, placed his hands on the consol, and shook his head. "So, what does this mean _now_?" he asked Preceptor.

The Autobot scientist shook his head and looked back somberly at Ultra Magnus. "As best as I can tell, this means we have no idea about the status of their mission." He looked down at some data, but quickly turned his attention back to Ultra Magnus. "With the Science Guild all but dead, and the observation tower destroyed, I can presume that we're _not _going to have any contact with Prime and the crew of the _Ark _until they attempt to contact us."

Blaster walked over to Ultra Magnus and stood there for a moment. He tapped a data pad on his palm and shook his head knowing that he was not going to be adding any cheerful news to the conversation.

"I don't think that Prime will be callin' us soon," Blaster started.

Ultra Magnus then turned to his communication officer and reached for the data pad. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

Blaster walked to the side of Ultra Magnus and pointed to the data on the pad. "We've got some interesting scans from Scrounge and Drifter in Kaon. It seems that the 'cons have been jamming our atmospheric comm-sats, meaning that while we can talk to whomever we want to on Cybertron, we're gonna have a tough time communicatin' with any ships out there, including Prime and the _Ark_."

Ultra Magnus gave a sarcastic smile and shook his head in disgust. "Great!" he shouted. "How can this orn get any worse?"

_M' Fall Quadrant_

_Uncharted Territory_

The golden ship known as the _Ark _exited transwarp displacement with ease. It settled seven hundred astro-klicks away from the massive asteroid field. The retro-engine turbines activated and began to create a standard orbiting stationary position in order to keep the minimum safe distance between the ship and the asteroid field.

Optimus Prime stood up and walked over to the observation window in front of the ship's bridge. He stood there silently for a brief moment and gazed out into the vastness of space. Although he studied the maps of the known universe carefully while he was documenting data logs in Iacon, he never truly thought that he would be able to venture off into space, but here he was nonetheless.

Prowl and Jazz approached Optimus Prime with a smile, realizing that he was admiring the sheer vastness of infinity. Jazz stood next to the Autobot leader and looked out of the window as well.

"She's a beauty, alright," Jazz said with a smile. "I've been wonderin' when I'd get past those two moons of ours, and here I am."

Optimus Prime looked down at the Autobot and gave a sympathetic glance with his optics. "As much as we fight on Cybertron, it truly is amazing how insignificant we are in the whole scope of creation."

Prowl walked over to Optimus Prime and Jazz and cleared his throat. Both of the Autobots turned around and looked at Prowl, who was going to bring them back to the here and now.

"I hate to rain on your parade, boys, but we've got some real issues to deal with." Prowl was never one for subtly breaking the ice, and he was not one for easing into conversations. Prowl did what he thought he had to do, and that was it.

Optimus Prime nodded and began walking over to the weapons station on the opposite end of the bridge. He glanced at Trailbreaker and Ironhide who were both manning the post. He stopped there for a moment and looked at the two Autobots who were intently monitoring the situation with the asteroid field.

"Weapons' status," Optimus Prime said.

Ironhide turned around in his chair and smirked at his leader. "She's all up an' rearin' to go, Prime," he said in his drawl. "These sonic doohickeys o' Wheeljack's are chargin' as we speak."

Trailbreaker brought up an image of the asteroid field and pointed to it. "If we are to go through the field at its center, we'll have to make two passes in order to clear the asteroids needed to ensure that they don't reach Cybertron." He brought up another image of the asteroid field and of Cybertron. "Using the sonic field generators as we pass through the field would then pulverize the nearby asteroids as well, and they would also push the others further off of their current course."

"But will it be enough?" Optimus Prime added. "I would not want to leave this mission and move on to the next with a false sense of security."

"Teletran-1 will take care of the long-range calculations, Prime," Wheeljack said from behind the Autobot leader. "That baby will run constant checks to make sure that at the field's current trajectory it won't reach Cybertron or its moons."

Optimus Prime nodded and turned back to face the window. He walked over to the consol in front of the window and looked down at the two Autobots who were piloting the massive ship. He placed his hand on the back of the seat and watched as the two Autobots continued on the present course.

"Is everything alright, Sideswipe?" Optimus Prime asked.

The red Autobot nodded and smiled at Optimus Prime. "As clear as crystalized carbonate," he replied. He then nudged the yellow Transformer next to him who grunted in return. "Old yellow nuts here thinks that he can handle this baby pretty easily."

"Oh, shut up will you?" the yellow Autobot replied. He turned to face Optimus Prime and ignored Sideswipe's comment. "Flying this bird is relatively simple, Prime," he said. "Even my brother can do something like _this_."

Optimus Prime nodded. "Excellent, Sunstreaker," he stated with satisfaction. He looked up at the window and watched as they hovered in front of the asteroid field. "Keep her steady and go through the field exactly where Wheeljack projected."

The _Ark _began to move toward the asteroid field with ease. In the back of the bridge was the tracking consol, manned by Huffer and Gears. Both were so focused on the approaching asteroid field that they failed to notice the minute momentary glitch on the tracking monitor that would indicate that they were being followed.

_The Nemesis_

Megatron smiled as he watched the _Ark _begin to sweep through the massive asteroid field. He turned to face Soundwave who was monitoring the entire situation as well.

"How noble of Prime," Megatron said to his most trusted follower. "To ensure the survival of our species, only to have it conquered by me!"

Soundwave looked up at Megatron who was sitting in the command chair on the bridge. Very few things caused the blue Decepticon to glisten with delight; all that mattered was that Megatron was pleased so far with the mission. He turned toward Rumble and Frenzy who were manning the cloaking station. He kneeled down in order to speak to his symbiotic followers.

"Ensure that we are not spotted by the Autobot shuttle," he said sternly. "Failure to do so will result in your immediate _replacement_."

The two Decepticons looked at each other with a frightened look in their optics. Very few things caused concern in the two Decepticons who depended on Soundwave for survival; all that mattered was that Soundwave was pleased with how they did their job, which reflected on him. Failure on their mission resulted in Megatron's aggravation with Soundwave, who, in turn, would take it out on his own followers, which was the one thing that they feared next to Megatron's wrath.

_Iacon_

Sky Lynx landed gracefully on the pad and immediately lowered his departing ramp. As the door to the ramp opened, two Autobots began running out from the body of the lieutenant commander of the Autobots. As they reached the surface of the landing pad, they transformed and headed toward the complex where Ultra Magnus was stationed.

The acting Autobot leader was going over scenarios on how to deactivate the Decepticon jamming activity that was disrupting their contact with Optimus Prime and the _Ark_. He looked over at Jetfire who was mulling over several possible solutions to the problem.

"What we really need to do is attack the problem head on," Jetfire said. "All of this plotting will do slag if we don't attack the situation where it matters most."

Kup nodded at Jetfire's comment. "The kid's right, Magnus," he said. "If we take Springer's unit, along with Grimlock's team, maybe we can penetrate the stronghold where the jamming frequency is coming from."

Ultra Magnus nodded in return. "I'll contact Grimlock and Springer." He turned to Kup and looked at the elder Autobot. "See if we can get Maximus to add support for our troops on this one."

Suddenly, the door opened and in came Sandstorm. He ran over to the Autobot commander and frantically handed Ultra Magnus a data pad. Sandstorm then pointed to the information on it with a troubled look on his face. "We've got some bad slag here," he said.

Ultra Magnus gazed rigorously at the information as it moved across the screen on the data pad. His optics then widened as he began to read the information encoded on it. "Tell me that this isn't happening," he said with despair. He looked up at Sandstorm and shook his head. "Where did you get this?"

Just then, Streetwise and Speedometer entered the room. Streetwise handed Ultra Magnus another data pad, this time it contained images of what seemed to be a Decepticon base. "_This _is what we've been trying to contact you about," he said sharply. "The 'cons have a base on the far moon where they've launched a ship in pursuit of Optimus Prime!"

Ultra Magnus scrolled through the various images of the base and of the massive ship. He looked up at the two Autobots and shook his head again. "When did it leave?" he asked.

Speedometer shook his head in response. "Once the _Ark _departed Cybertron. We've been trying to reach you, but all communication between the moons and Cybertron are shot to hell!" He pointed to another image on the pad. "They've been jamming Autobots interplanetary communications from their base on the far moon!"

Ultra Magnus slammed the data pad on the desk in frustration, shattering it into several pieces. "Damn!" he shouted. He turned to Jetfire and stood up. "Have Maximus gather his troops, now!" He looked over at Kup and pointed to the shattered data pad. "Tell Grimlock that we're off to kick some Decepticon chassis! If he's interested, he can come along too!"

Kup smiled and reached for his laser pistol. He demagnetized it and cocked it with a flick of the wrist. "Now you're talking, kid!"

_The Ark_

The Ark made its final pass through the massive asteroid field without any problem. All of the Autobots waited as Teletran-1 calculated the trajectory of the remaining asteroids to see if they were headed toward their home world. Each Autobot, especially Wheeljack, waited impatiently as the supercomputer worked out the calculations.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by Teletran-1.

"Situation averted. Current trajectory of asteroid field poses no threat to Cybertron" the computer spoke.

The Autobots all cheered and applauded their combined efforts. They hugged each other realizing that the first objective on their mission had been achieved. Optimus Prime walked over to Wheeljack and shook his hand.

"Nicely done, Wheeljack," he said. He then turned around and looked at the rest of the Autobots gathered on the bridge. "Nicely done _EVERYBODY_!" All of the Autobots congratulated one another again. Optimus Prime then made his way over to his command chair and pointed at the window. "Let's keep the momentum flowing."

Sideswipe gave Sunstreaker a gentle punch on his arm. He smiled at his brother and spoke. "Not to shabby, Streaker."

The yellow Autobot dismissed his brother's compliment and continued to activate the transwarp driver. He looked over at Sideswipe and shook his head. "Don't get lazy on me now, bro," he said. "Bring the transwarp core to ful capacity so we can blow this joint."

A hole in space appeared in front of the _Ark_. It expanded to twice the size of the ship. Then, the golden ship began to make its way into the transwarp displacement field, taking them farther than they could ever imagine.

_The Nemesis_

Megatron watched as the _Ark _entered standard transwarp displacement. He turned to Thundercracker and sneered at him. "Make sure that their trajectory is noted in the navi-computer," he said coldly. "I want to make sure that we follow Prime and his band of pathetic Autobots to this world that holds the key to our victory!"

The light blue Decepticon nodded at his leader's request. He brought up the last known trajectory of the _Ark _and calculated the speed of the transwarp displacement hole. He began to feed the information into the computer, and activated the transwarp driver.

"Ready when you are, Megatron," Thundercracker said. "We have a standard course plotted."

Megatron smiled and looked out of the observation window. "Excellent," he said with a smile. "It is time that we follow Prime, even if it is to hell itself!"

_Omani-Attune_

_Far Moon of Cybertron_

Grimlock handed Throttleback another shell to load into Sludge. He gazed at the young Autobot and saw a mech who was terrified of both dying on the battlefield and of disappointing his commander. He slapped the green Autobot on the shoulder and watched as he delicately placed it inside of Sludge's cannon.

"Don't worry about harming Sludge, Throttleback," Grimlock said with concern. "He know how to take it."

The young mech smiled and shook his head at his leader. He watched as the shell dropped all the way down to the base of Sludge's forward cannon. He slapped Sludge on the turret and looked up at Grimlock. "There he goes," he said.

Sludge chuckled and fired the shell from his cannon. The gathered Autobots watched as the shell streaked across the battlefield and slammed into the Decepticon stronghold, throwing up a red ball of flame as it incinerated part of the outer wall.

"Sweet," Sludge said softly. "Got another one?" he asked Throttleback.

Throttleback smiled and picked up another shell and loaded it into Sludge. He began to feel as part of the team rather than a new recruit that was assigned to Grimlock to replace a fallen friend.

Grimlock turned to Snarl and pointed to the communication array. "Get Maximus," he said.

Snarl squatted down by the computer and dialed in several coded frequencies. He patiently scanned for the correct imaging codex, and then activated the monitor as he located the proper encryption code. "Here you go, Grim," Snarl said over the roar of the shells being fired from Sludge and Warpath.

Grimlock sat down in front of the monitor and looked at the image of Whirl. "Where Maximus?" he asked the Autobot.

Whirl turned around and tapped his commanding officer on the shoulder. "Grimlock's on the line," he said.

Maximus walked over to the monitor and smiled at the image of his friend. "What's the situation there?" he asked.

Grimlock nodded at Maximus. "Scans indicate that we penetrating outer wall. We ready for breach here."

Maximus nodded while his smile grew larger. "Great," he said happily. "Maybe we can get this slagging jamming station down before we lose Prime's signal!"

Just then, Slag walked over to Grimlock. There was a look in his optics that told Grimlock he was ready for a fight. "Wall's down, boss!" he said with a grin. He then grabbed his energy sword and activated it. "Ready for breaching raid whenever you are!"

Grimlock turned to Maximus and nodded. "Me have business to attend to." He then turned off the monitor and stood up. He looked at Sludge and Warpath who continued to hammer the outer wall with shells. He pointed to the hole in the wall and gazed at it. "You two keep optics opened while we enter building!"

Warpath turned his turret at Grimlock and rolled back a bit. "Bang! Zow!" he exclaimed. "Happy hunting boss!"

Grimlock looked at the small Autobot known as Throttleback and grabbed him by the shoulder. He then looked into his optics with concern. "Ready for this?" he asked.

The small Autobot nodded and smiled at his leader. "As ready as I'll ever be!"

Grimlock activated his energy sword and leapt over the wall, followed by Slag, Throttleback, Roadbuster, and Snarl. The charging Autobots hollered out in a primal scream, letting all of the Decepticons inside know that they were on their way.

Inside the complex, Decepticons were chaotically running around attempting to find a way to stop the attack by the Autobots. Several Decepticons went running to the breach in the wall prepared to stop the Autobots, but they did not know that Grimlock would be leading the assault.

Shockwave stood there motionless as the other Decepticons prepared to fight. Everything was going exactly as he had planned. All he needed was a little more time to ensure that Megatron would never return. Each passing moment meant that Megatron was getting further and further away from Cybertron, and then Shockwave would have complete control.

_The Ark_

Everyone onboard the _Ark _gazed out of the observation window in astonishment. Every mech that was on the ship came to the bridge to witness the sight that they never could imagine. Off in the distance was a blue and white planet, orbited by two moons. Many of the Transformers smiled as they realized that they finally reached the destination, one that could ultimately bring stability and hope back to the people of Cybertron.

Optimus Prime looked over at Prowl and walked over to his second in command. He shook his hand and nodded at the cautious Autobot.

"Nicely done, Prowl," Optimus Prime said. "Perhaps this will usher in a new era of peace across Cybertron."

Prowl smiled back at Optimus Prime. "With the possibility of limitless energy, maybe Megatron will finally come to his senses."

As if on cue, there was a rumble onboard the ship shaking everything and everyone on it. Many of the smaller Autobots fell to the floor, while some of the larger ones attempted to catch their balance. Once the initial brunt of the force was over, all of the Transformers began running to their assigned stations.

Sideswipe ran back to the navigational consol and began scanning the area to make sure that the ship did not stray off course and hit something. He looked up at Optimus Prime and shook his head. "Scans say that we're running free and clear of any orbiting objects, Prime!" he yelled over the mass confusion.

Optimus Prime then turned to face Gears and Huffer. "Can you pick up anything?" he asked.

Gears looked down at the consol and grabbed it to help him from falling out of his seat as another shockwave hit the ship. He looked over at his partner and grabbed him by the arm. "What do you got?" he asked.

Huffer rubbed his head in confusion. He looked up at Optimus Prime and shook his head. "I can't spot anything out of the norm, but there's a large energy source coming from a void on the tracking computer!"

Optimus Prime stood up and walked over to the two Autobots. "Megatron," he said. He then looked over at both Hound and Cliffjumper and ran to the bridge's main screen. "Give me a visual of the ship's hull!" he said to the two Autobots.

Cliffjumper rapidly brought up several windows on the bridge's monitor that displayed various images from cameras placed around the _Ark_. Four of them displayed a purple vessel roughly the same size of the _Ark_. It was attached to the Autobot ship by two bright purple magnetic beams. In the center of the beams was a docking bridge, which had already breached the hull of the _Ark_.

"Those damn 'cons have leached onto the hull!" Cliffjumper said as he pointed to the images on the screen. He brought up the internal cameras and saw several Decepticons already inside the ship. He touched one of teh images and it zoomed in on several mechs running down the metal hallway. "We've been breached!"

Hound brought up an image of the sector of the Ark where the Decepticons breached the hull. He pointed to the monitor and looked at Optimus Prime with horror. "The Decepticons have compromised our security measures! They're en route to the bridge as we speak!"

Optimus Prime ran over and grabbed his weapon. He turned around and looked at the rest of the crew. "Prepare to repel boarders!"

Suddenly, the entranceway to the bridge exploded and threw the doors across the room. Sideswipe ducked out of the way as the doors hit the navigational consol. Sparks shot out of the computer as it began to short circuit from the damage. Sideswipe then began to pry the massive door from the computer. As he touched the metal door, a power surge went straight through him and began to send raw energy into his body. The red Autobot began to shut down as his body began to overload from the power.

Sunstreaker ran over to his brother and tried desperately to free him. Once he did, he watched as Sideswipe went into stasis lock to repair the heavy damage that he sustained. He gently placed his brother's body on the floor, and then retracted his right hand. Out of his wrist came a laser cannon and he activated it immediately.

"Let's go you bastards!" Sunstreaker shouted as the smoke cleared the room.

In the hallway, Optimus Prime watched as the Decepticons ran toward the bridge. There he saw his adversary approaching him. Optimus Prime brought up his weapon and fired into the rush of Decepticons causing them to scatter. Optimus Prime gave into the primal rage and anger that fueled his neural processor at that moment, and he could only utter one word from his vocal processor. "**_MEGATRON_**!"

Megatron smiled and brought his right arm upward and pointed his cannon at the Autobot leader. "Die Autobots!"

Soundwave grabbed his leader's arm and pulled it away from his intended target. "No!" he shouted. Megatron was taken back by the sudden turn in disposition by Soundwave and glared back at him. Soundwave let go and explained his actions. "If you fire, you'll rupture the hull's integrity, thereby sending us all into space!"

Megatron nodded at the warrior, realizing that Soundwave was concerned for his safety. He brought his arm down and smiled back at Soundwave. "I guess we'll have to do this the 'old fashioned' way like we did in the pits."

On the far end of the bridge, Trailbreaker looked at the monitor and saw the Decepticon ship attached to the _Ark_. He then activated the sonic disruptors at his station with the hopes that it would destroy the ship and any other remaining Decepticons on it.

The sonic disruptor gave off a blast of pure transonic energy. The wave, deathly silent in the vacuum of space, tore through the ship, cleaving it apart. The magnetic clamps were sheered away from the mass of the _Ark_, tearing away the outer wall of the ship's hull. The docking tube was also violently ripped off the hull as well. With the _Ark_'s internal pressure compromised, there was a thrust force that sent everybody on the ship falling to the floor. Teletran-1 realized that the hull was breached, so it threw up several invisible force fields in order to protect the _Ark _from suffering any more structural damage, as wll as keeping all of the occupants inside of the hulking vessel.

The remains of the Decepticon ship fell toward the nearest moon and slammed off of the surface, skidding miles before it fell into a crater six times the size of the _Nemesis_. Once it fell to the bottom of the crater, the ship exploded, sending debris miles high into the thin atmosphere of the moon while a large frontal portion of the ship drifted toward the blue planet.

Furious, Starscream ran over to Trailbreaker and kicked him in the back, sending the Autobot defensive strategist headfirst into the consol. Starscream pointed his null ray at Trailbreaker's neck and sneered at the sight of the black Autobot. "You fool!" he shouted. "You'll kill us all!"

Trailbreaker quickly turned around and hit the Decepticon in the face, shattering Starscream's right optic. Trailbreaker pushed Starscream and then hit him again in the face, this time breaking the Decepticon's jaw completely off from his face. Trailbreaker smiled and threw Starscream to the floor. "At least we'll be taking some of you psychopaths with us!" he shouted.

Trailbreaker was ready to fire his wrist laser at Starscream, but he was tackled by the combined efforts of Rumble and Frenzy. The two Decepticons began to viciously hit Trailbreaker repeatedly, but no matter how hard the Autobot tried to get them off of his chassis, they continued to hit back.

Thundecracker began firing randomly at any Autobot that he saw. In his continued fire he hit Windcharger, Ratchet, and Bumblebee, as well as the remains of the navigational computer, shutting it down completely. The consol exploded, throwing Sunstreaker across the room and into the wall. It also sent Sideswipe's body at Bluestreak and pinned him against the far wall of the bridge.

"Holy Primus, Sideswipe," Bluestreak said as he tried to shove Sideswipe's body off of him. "You must have put on an astro-ton since the last time we wrestled!"

With the ship sustaining too much damage, Teletran-1 started shutting down unnecessary systems in order to continue on its current trajectory. With the orbital mainframe offline, the _Ark _then began a straight decent into the planet's atmosphere. The ship shook violently as it started entering the planet's gravitational field. Prowl, barely holding off Ravage who had severed several components in Prowl's right hand rendering it useless, looked over at Optimus Prime. "The planet's g-forces are dragging us down!"

Optimus Prime elbowed Megatron in the face, sending the massive Decepticon leader backwards. "You've done some rash things before Megatron, but this teeters on the verge of insanity!"

Megatron rubbed the green lubricant from his chin as he listened to Optimus Prime's remark. He looked up at the Autobot and began to laugh at him. "Insanity Prime?" the Decepticon commander said softly. "Allowing you and your ilk the opportunity to grab this planet as a trophy would be insane. I'll be _damned_ if I will allow that to happen!" Furious, Megatron then lunged at his nemesis and they both toppled over the command chair.

The bridge's observation window began to glow red and yellow as the _Ark _dove straight through the planet's atmosphere. The _Ark _adjusted for the change in gravity, keeping everything from falling to the front of the ship. The massive cruiser shuttered without end, slamming both Autobot and Decepticon alike off of the walls, ceiling, and the floor. Huffer and Gears hit head first into each other, cracking Huffer's head-plate severely and sending him into stasis lock. Gears fell to the floor and reached over to his friend in an attempt to help him, but he was stepped on by Soundwave.

Just as Soundwave was about to fire his weapon at the back of the Autobot's head, he was hit in the back by Brawn. Soundwave fell to the floor and looked up at the smaller Autobot. Brawn smiled at the Decepticon and motioned for him to get up.

"Come on, slag-eater!" Brawn yelled. "Show me what you're _really _made of!"

Then the shaking stopped as the ship started falling downward through the clouds. All of the Transformers on the ship stopped for a moment and glared out at the window. They saw the ground of the planet quickly approaching the ship; they were all headed straight downward. Jazz ran to the manual steering control and tried to level the ship out. Knowing that a direct impact would vaporize everything in the blast zone, he pulled with every ounce of energy that he had left, and it began to pay off. The _Ark _started to level out, but was still headed toward the surface of the planet. As he started to level the _Ark _out some more, he was hit from behind. The force of the blow made Jazz slam his face into the steering control.

Skywarp smiled at his handiwork, but then looked out of the window. He stood there with his mouth wide open and realized that the ship was inevitably going to crash into the surface of the planet below. As Skywarp stood there dazed, he was tackled at his waist by Mirage. The two Transformers went toppling over each other as they exchanged blows.

Suddenly, the ship hit the rocky surface of the planet and it skidded across the landscape. A large boulder hit the thick observation window and crashed through it. The boulder hit the floor of the bridge once and then quickly slammed into Brawn's chest. Brawn and the boulder then went flying to the far end of the bridge, and Brawn was smashed between the reinforced wall and the heavy boulder.

A large portion of the window sailed across the bridge and hit Soundwave directly in his symbiotic storage compartment, his most vulnerable area. The window sliced right through Soundwave, sending a spray of energon out from the wound in his back. He fell to both knees and grabbed the glass that was jutting out from his chest, but quickly faded into stasis lock from the trauma sustained by the wound.

Wheeljack pinned down Buzzsaw by his beak and slammed him to the floor of the bridge, shattering his optic visor. The Decepticon squawked and flailed around as it tried to free itself from Wheeljack's grip in order to rush to Soundwave's aid, but to no avail. Then, distracted by the tragic turn of events for both Brawn and Soundwave, Wheeljack looked up and saw that the _Ark _was headed straight toward a mountain. His optics widened in horror as he realized that no matter what happened on the ship, they were all going to die.

Optimus Prime realized that all was lost. His hopes of finding a way to save Cybertron now faded to despair. Furious at Megatron, he grabbed the Decepticon by the arm and threw him to the floor. He jumped on top of him and placed his hands around Megatron's neck and hoped to wring the life out of the Decepticon leader.

Megatron managed to pry Optimus Prime's grip for a brief moment. He smiled at his longtime rival and spoke. "Such heroic non. . ."

Megatron was unable to finish his thought. The _Ark _slammed directly into the base of a large volcano. The force of the impact caused the volcano to erupt, covering its sides in cinder, ash, and rock, thereby burying the _Ark_ under tons of debris.

As the dust settled inside the dark, lifeless ship, there was nothing but complete silence. All of the combatants inside the _Ark _were thrown about so violently from the impact that the blunt force trauma sent everybody into stasis lock, rendering the entire ship and its occupants dead. Teletran-1 suffered extensive damage and shut down all systems in an effort to preserve itself.

In the dark, the large giants laid there silently. It suddenly seemed impossible that not more than five minutes ago everybody on the _Ark _was amazed at the possibility of helping Cybertron from its inevitable course. However, the perverse turn of events created a tragic end to their efforts. Underneath the enormous volcano, the Transformers onboard the _Ark _would lay undisturbed until destiny could somehow awake them again.

**END?**


End file.
